A white supremacist will get a custodial sentence after becoming the first Victorian found guilty of performing the Nazi salute.
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00:00It was this time last year when far-right extremist Jacob Hasson became the first person
00:07in Victoria to be charged with performing the Nazi salute, just days after the offensive
00:11gesture was banned under new state laws.
00:14Yesterday Hasson was found guilty after a Melbourne magistrate rejected his lawyer's
00:18arguments.
00:19The laws were constitutionally invalid.
00:21Now during a pre-sentencing hearing today, prosecutors told the court that Hasson's
00:26prospects for rehabilitation were poor to non-existent, but Hasson's lawyers argued
00:30that he was a good father and son, and while he held concerning views, he was far better
00:36than his worst deeds.
00:37Now Hasson was outside Victoria's county court last year, being sentenced over another
00:42offence when he performed the Nazi salute.
00:45Today Melbourne magistrate Brett Sonnett told the court that the only appropriate sentencing
00:49order he could hand down was a term of imprisonment, but he said that he would need another four
00:53weeks to decide the exact duration of that jail time.
00:57Magistrate Sonnett told the court that Jacob Hasson had significant mitigating factors
01:02weighing against him, specifically his absence of a guilty plea, his criminal history, as
01:06well as his lack of remorse.
01:08Today a defiant Hasson told reporters outside court that he had no regrets over his conviction.
01:14He's been allowed to remain in the community until his sentencing in November.
01:18The offence carries a maximum penalty of a $24,000 fine or 12 months in prison.
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